Kurita Crystal
by S'revan
Summary: DISCONT. The Kenshin-gumi and some other main characters are trapped. When they're released, it's a completely different world, not to mention planet... crossover with BattleTech
1. Prologue

Insert standard disclaimer here. 

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"So what is it?"

"That's what we don't know, Misao-dono," Kenshin replied, as the whole group knelt in a circle, looking at the largish crystal and the chain it hung from. 

Kenshin slowly unclenched his fingers and let the chain slip from his grasp. The crystal bounced a little against the floor, then was still. 

"Well," Sano said, relaxing a little from his protective half-crouch. "Now we know it won't shatter or explode on impact."

"Are you sure this is from an enemy, Ken-san?" Megumi asked. "It doesn't look dangerous."

"Yaikou Karasu is well known for his obsession with destroying red-heads," Aoshi returned tonelessly. 

Yahiko snorted. "Well, he won't succeed this time! I, Myojin Yahiko--"

"Oh, shut up, Yahiko," Kaoru muttered, hitting him with a random object to hand. 

Yahiko fell to muttering. 

The partial silence was interrupted by the forceful opening of one of the panels. A mature, somwhat dissheveled woman with glossy auburn hair dashed in, and with a quick, "Hide me!" dove behind Kenshin, completely ignoring his half-drawn sword. 

She was soon followed by Saiou Hajime. "Come out from behind the Battousai," he ordered. 

In a rare fit of childishness, Saitou Tokio stuck her tongue out at her husband from over Kenshin's shoulder. "No. I don't care how red my hair is, I refuse to go to one of your 'safe places', just because of Yaikou Karasu! And if you dare try --"

"Tokio, this is neither the time nor the place," Saitou said, actually looking tired. 

"Actually -- excuse me -- but I believe it is, that I do."

"And why would that be?"

Kenshin pointed to his own flaming red hair that made Tokio's look black by comparison. "He also gave me this crystal for no reason I can fathom, that I can't. Saitou-dono, if you don't mind?"

Tokio sighed and got up to pull Saitou down to kneel with the rest of the group. 

"So what now?" Misao wanted to know.

"I dunno. How can anything so beautiful be dangerous?" Kaoru held it up to the light. "See, it's so clear, it could practially be molded water, or glass. It makes rainbows too." Sighing, she let it fall to her open palm. 

"Don't--!" Kenshin began. Before he could warn of poison, however, there was a flash of something, and the whole group was caught in an endless instant of nothingness. 

Later on that day, Saitou Takeshi, the eldest son and just turned 13, came looking for his father. In the middle of the Kamiya-Himura dojo, there was his father's poice hat and a cloudy, largish crystal on a chain. He went looking around the house for Himura, but the only thing alive was a tiny little puppy awaiting the birth of Himura's child. He took the crystal and the puppy, then went to the woman doctor's place, to the symbol-of-evil-on-his-back guy's place, to Tae's and then home. His parents weren't back yet. He gave the puppy to his sister, who immediately got into a fight with their baby brother over it. A few days later, when still nobody had returned, he showed his siblings the crystal and told them that the world's greatest fighters, their parents included, were caught in is, for a joke. He also moved everyone to the neighbors, an childless couple called Kurita who were all too happy to take the three children in. As time passed, however, the young man, now Kurita Takeshi, came to believe his jest, and the legend grew...


	2. In New Hands

Insert standard disclaimer here. 

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"This crystal?" Ulric asked. 

"Yes." The Khan of the Smoke Jaguars answered. "The coordinator of the Draconis Combine's grandson had it in his possession. When we captured him, we took it from him. 

If Ilkhan Ulric was offended or upset by the tiny offering or the insult it implied, it could neither be seen on his face nor heard in his voice. "I see," he said. "Thank you." He took the crystal and held it up to the light. 

There was a flash of non-light. 

"Oro!"

"Uwaaaaaaaah!"

"Yeeeeeeek!"

"Kyaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Ugh..."

A bunch of people seemed to fall out of the crystal, landing in a heap. The one on top silently got up and helped his comrade to stand, then extracted a woman from the pile. The other man did the same for a young girl. A small man with long, bright red hair helped a young woman to her feet. An attractive woman got up and nudged the man at the bottom of the pile -- who had spikey brown hair and was rather tall in comparison to the others -- out of his daze. "Kitsune," he muttered at her. 

"Baka," she returned. 

"Who are you?" Ulric asked curiously. 

"Eh? Kenshin, dore da?" the young woman with long hair in a ponytail said. 

"Oro," was all that the red-haired man, apparently Kenshin, replied with. "Kaoru-dono--"

He was interrupted by the first man. "Ahou," he muttered, resting his hand on the strange-looking hilt of a strange-looking sword and looking at the assembled clanners with a suspicious gaze. 

The two groups looked at each other. It quickly became obvious that their respective languages were not what the other group spoke. Natasha stared thoughtfully at the red-haired man. "Kenshin," she said at last. 

He transferred his gaze to her. "Aa?"

She bowed. "Watashi wa Natasha desu."

He returned the bow. "Watashi wa Himura Kenshin de gozaru, Natasha-dono."

Natasha nodded sharply at turned to Ulric. "They're speaking Japanese."

"The language of the Combine," he muttered. "Do you know it?"

"I've just about used up all I know," she replied. "We need to find a translator of some sort."

"Hahiro will be visiting us soon, will he not?" Phelan asked. "It was his crystal originally, and he is Japanese, so perhaps he will be able to find out more than any one else."

Ulric nodded.

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AN:

Ayce Shade - Thank you, and sorry if I sounded spoilt. Here goes with #2.


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